Her breathing
shallow, laboured;
life hanging
from a fraying string
and I searching for the right words,
the last words.
What are the words
that should sail the auditory canal
into her final minutes?
What can I say
into the turbulence of her breathing
to repay her love,
allay the fear,
lessen the hardship?
And now, years on,
trying to remember what I did say
as she bobbed on the tide of her dying;
moments when loving care
was reduced to the most caring words;
trying to remember if I had the words.
